About Us

Chris is originally from Houston, Texas where much of his family still resides to this day.  He moved to Alaska in March of 2020 while his mother helped design the Alpine Oil Field near Nuiqsut.  Soon after arriving, he began school at Mirror Lake Middle School and continued at Chugiak High School where he made many lifelong friends.  In January of 2008, he moved back to Houston to spend time with his family and gain experience in the drafting and design field.  While there, he worked for a company that specialized in the design of large diameter, high temperature and pressure, and severe service valves designed to meet the needs of the steel and oil and gas industries.  After three years, he went to work for an international oil and gas company and worked on a joint venture project which, at that time, was tasked with designing major expansions to one of the largest petrochemical refineries in the world. 

In August 2011, after one of the hottest summers ever recorded in Houston, Chris packed up his car and drove to back Alaska, fittingly departing on the hottest day that have ever been recorded in Houston.  Arriving 10 days later on a beautiful September day in Alaska, Chris started the search for a new job and took on what was only to be a temporary drafting job at a local consulting firm in Eagle River.  After searching for drafting and design positions in the oil and gas industry for two years, Chris decided that job security was more important than the lucrative but volatile oil and gas industry and decided to take on more responsibility with the small consulting firm.  

He quickly took to project management with the firm, and after 7 more years took on several other roles including being added to the Board of Directors, a trustee of the firm’s ESOT, and performed the role of Chief Operating Officer in addition to his project management position.  During his time there, he worked with building owners, design professionals, and others and established his reputation and commitment to delivering quality products on schedule and within budget, being responsive and flexible with a strong ability to adjust to situations on the fly. 

Viv is originally from Bogota, Colombia where much of her family still resides.  After high school, Viv earned her bachelor’s degree in Finance and Foreign Trade and went on to work for Siemens for three years in the imports department as a junior analyst.  While there, Viv learned many valuable skills, but the thought of traveling and exploring the world began to grow, and in October 2014 that desire to explore became a reality and she moved to Alaska.  Her first job was as an Au pair, and after that, Viv worked in construction and at a local coffee shop near Westchester Lagoon. 

Soon after the birth of her daughter, the November 30, 2018 Anchorage Earthquake happened while Abigail was sleeping in her arms, and then a little over a year after that, the COVID-19 pandemic started.  During these times, Viv had the most important and demanding job of the family, which was to raise Abigail with little help due to the distance of our families and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Chris and Viv originally met in 2015 through one of their closest friends and continued to meet time and again over the following two years.  It was in the summer of 2017 that the two started dating, and it did not take long for them to realize the special relationship that they shared.  In 2018, they were married in a uniquely Alaskan way on a frozen lake in the Portage Valley.  They were surrounded by friends on a rare but beautiful sunny day with the same close friend they originally met each other through performing the ceremony.  Later that year, they welcomed their first child, the lovable, sweet, and smiley Abigail Maire who continues to create smiles and happiness for the family every day. 

The idea of starting a family business was not a new idea to them and had been discussed many times in previous years.  Since 2018, many changes have been rapidly taking place in Alaska and around the world, including a major influx of work due to the November 30, 2018 Anchorage Earthquake and the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Amongst these and other challenges, the idea of a family business always seemed out of reach.  During the holidays in December 2021, after a long and demanding three years in which very little room was left for family time, Chris and Viv watched their three year old daughter, Abigail, enthusiastically tear into presents from Santa along with her joyous fascination with the New Year’s Eve fireworks displays, and Chris and Viv decided it was time to start the family business.  So, after a decade of experience with a local consulting company by Chris, Viv’s experience and background in finances, and the desire to provide a better future for their family, HTRW, LLC was established.  As a small family business with big-business expertise, our family looks forward to providing many years of quality and affordable hazardous building materials-related consulting services to clients and communities throughout Alaska.